Improvement in flou r - pack



UNTTTsn STATES PATENT OFFICEe N S Y LVANIA.

llVlPROVEh/lENT iN FLOUR-PACKING MACHINES.

Hpeeilieatiou forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,055, dated April 29,ISG?.

,To all whom it 71mg/ concer/z:

l-e it known that l, ALBERT lnowN, olf lllil'- llinville, in the countyol' (`olumbia, iu the State ol" Pennsylvania, have invented certain newand usel'ul lmprovenlcnts in Nour-Packing Machim'lry; and l herebydeclare the l'ollowing to bea l'ull, clear, and exact description ot thesame,rol'ermice being had to the accompz'rnyng drawings, in whieh-[Figure l represents a sectional elevation ot' my improved Hour-packingmachine. Figs. 2 and il show, respectively, a side and plan view ol.'the prolellenshapeil Vlionr-presser; Fig. l, the metallic sli-cve or.lunnel l{foi-holding the Hour-bag whihx being filled, and packed; and l`ig. 5, the adjustable tunnel (for hohling the upper edge or opening ot'the bag distended and snug against the rim ol'themetallie sleeve,

and at the same t ime establishing connnunication between. thestationaryhopper and the bag. y

ln the said iigures, A rel'nfesents the posts of a strong frame, uponwhich is mounted the whole machinery for packing' the tlour as deliveredfrom the louring'mills. Instead of posts, A may represent the side wallsof a l'lourqjlacking room, of which l5 and B are respectively theceiling and floor.

The packing machinery proper consists, iirst, ot a mechanism orinstrument for pressing the .flour into and within a barrel or bag inuuiformlayers; second, of amechanism for imparting the requisitemovements to the pressing-instrument, so as to render its operationcontinuous Iand automatic; third, of a means for properly conveying theour from the place of its storage or from the l'louriugmill to thebarrel or bag, and, fourth, of a means for holding the barrel or bag ina proper position` in relation to the packing machinery a nd forallowing of its being readily engaged with or disengaged from the saidmachinery.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my inventioml shallnow proceed to describe the construction, arrangement, and modusoperandi o' the several parts hereinat'ter ,referred to.

The pressing machinery consists of two screw-propeller shaped blades, Cand D, mounted u pon a vertical shaft, E, that receives its rotarymotion from some prime mover by means ol" the bevel-gears l" and. G.

The shaft is supended to the end ot a walking-beam, ll, which theoperator may work up and down at pleasure bymeansotl the rod I to hoistor lower the screw orpressingdnstrm ment out ot' orinto thelnrrrel.Atterone barrel is lilled with tlour the screw is hoisted up by pullingIupon the rod. on the outer end ot the beam, andthe rod is locked in withthe loop, or bymelns of a spring-catch at .1,while another and enlpt-ybarrel is placed iu position t'or a subsequent operation.

'.lhe two screws, it will be seen, are arranged one above the other. Theobject ot thus arranging the two screws is the distribution of the iourby the o11e,-.e.,tlie upper one-into even layers in. advance of theotherwli. e., the underscrew-whose functionit is to eliminate the air[from the flour-and to compress it. By this arrangement the screw isrendered most available for the purposes of packing' tlouror othersubstances in powder.

Rotary motion is imparted to the screws by means of a bevel-gear,4 G,mounted upon a hol low shaft or sleeve, K, through which the screwshaftpasses. To the sleeve are aliixed two or more rollers, L, arranged toconverge toward the center of the screw-shaft F, and are adjusted so asto mesh in with guides or grooves M upon the said shaft..

The rollers not only disminish friction in the up and down movements ofthe revolving' screw-shaft, but will keep the said shaft in its true andcentral position in relation to the sleeve, and consequently in relationtothe barrel or bag.

The screw is weighted, so as to give it the requisite pressing actionupon the iionrin the barrel. It has therefore a downward tendency, andis only worked np by the gradual filling of the barrel. This operationis eitected automatically bythe gearing described, which imparts therotary motion to the shaft by means of the rollers L, that grip theshaft, without, however, interfering with its up and down motions. l

The iiour to be packed is first entered the hopper or Hour-reservoir N,whence it is fed into the barrel or ba-g by passing through the funnelO. l provide the hopper with a gate, P, for the double purpose ofregulating the supply of ourinto the bag in accordance with the velocityof operation and weight of the screw and of shutting off the supply offlour altogether at the intermediate stagese., when one barrel is fullanother and empty one is placed in its stead.

The funnel O is a single truncated cone,its upper diameter beingsomewhat larger than that of the lower opening of the hopper, while itsinferior diameter is smaller than that of the opening of the bag orbarrel. It is provided with two or more springs, Q, at or near its upperperiphery, whose function it is to catch with the studs or otherprojections on the hopper, so as to be held thereby .in position untilpurposely released therefrom.

If bags be used instead of the usual barrels, I employ a metallic orother cylindrical sleeve, R, of the exact diameter of the bag, so thatwhen distended the said bag shall iill it completely. In order that thebag may not pucker within its sleeve, I cut Jrwo angular slits in thelower end of the cylinder, so as to allow the ears or corners of the bagto protrude from the cylinder, as shown in liig. l.

The method employed by me of distending the bag consists simply inturning over the rim oi' the sleeve or cylinder, the upper edge ol' thcbag. By this means the bag will at ing loose or displaced by theconstant action of the screw.

Having thus described my invention, I shall state my claims as follows:

l 1. The method of imparting rotary motion to the propeller or otherrotary Hour-packing device, so as to allow of its rotation at variableelevations by passing the propeller-shaft through the sleeve of the maingear-wheel, said sleeve being provided with friction-rollers impingingupon and Working Within grooves or ways arranged along the said shaft,substantially in the manner herein set forth.

2. In combination with a stationary hopper or spout for the conveyanceof the I'lourto the bag to be packed, the adjustable funnel constructedand arranged, substantially as described, so as to be readily adjustableto the station ar y hopper and securely hold the opening of the bagdistended, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. The arrangement described ofv one doublewinged screw-propeller overthe other, so that while the one shall evenly spread the flour inadvance of the other the latter-,shall press the liour thus spread.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification beforetwo subscribing witnesses. v

ALBERT BRO WN. lVitnesses:

NATHAN MARTZ, lGEORGE A. BROWN.

